Running Scared (2006)

"Running Scared" is extremely graphically violent movie, but the most amazing thing about it is not that of course. It is not the great acting performances, or neither is the perfectly written script. The way the movie was shot, and the special effects are made, is the most great about it IMO.I do not what more to say, except GIVE IT A SHOT, I think the most people will like it, and even if you do not like so much gore, swearing etc. you will still appreciate the well made movie, and if you ever did not liked Paul Walker, you will love him in this one. Vera Farmiga does a pretty god damn good role also, and the two young actors are fabolous. In addition, I want to say in the beginning I thought that Paul Walker is the one who is running scared, but it is actually the russians's girl son : )

There aren't many people who know about 'Running Scared' or who rate it that highly, but after having watched it, this must be down to critics having watched so many mediocre thrillers, they can no longer recognise a gem. This film is frantic from start to finish, but despite an unrelenting pace, it still explores the characters deeply, enough for the viewer to become involved in their fears and struggles. The late Paul Walker is great and so is his female lead Vera Farmiga who is an exceptional actress. This film is different because it takes itself seriously, the gangsters are real people and the violence is brutal but has that comic book edge to it a la 'Pulp Fiction'. Vera Farmiga's character is the difference in this film because in many male orientated gangster thrillers, the female leads are always under used but not here. Vera is as good as Paul Walker and her character just as compelling. The two boys in the movie are also central to the plot and it seems every character is a piece to this very interesting puzzle. I think the name is abit weak and probably didn't help in selling this film, but anyone who appreciates true cinema must love what we have here.

Two corrupt policemen are dead after trying to rip off a drug deal in a hotel room; the top gangster's lieutenant is told to DISPOSE of the murder weapons. He goes home. In his basement, Dumb Lieutenant hides the guns behind a false plywood wall that doesn't lock and isn't attached to anything - seriously it looks like it's just leaning there, waiting to blow over in a draft. He is seen by his ten-year-old son Nicky, because he didn't think to check behind some boxes.But we're getting ahead of ourselves - before Dumb Lieutenant goes downstairs, he corners his woman somebody in the laundry room for some hot character development. The first thing we see of her is ass; it takes about 12 seconds before we see her face.The face belongs to Vera Farmiga, who is a fine actress and the only character who wasn't crippled by stupidity, but I could feel fake enthusiasm emanate from her.Their lovemaking pauses, as he looks up and meets her gaze. Her fingers rest lightly on his cheeks, as her eyes say, "We're gonna get through this scene."(He eventually calls her "Mrs. G," clearing up her status. Unless you missed the fact so far that his last name is "Gazelle." "The name is Gazelle. Joey Gazelle.")Back to hiding the guns - Dumb Lieutenant's about to impregnate his wife with his designer stubble, when she stops him abruptly, saying "No no no, Nicky is here." Where? "Oh, upstairs with his creepy friend Oleg." Dumb Lieutenant goes to the stairs and calls out to Nicky, hearing no reply or any sound of any kind. He draws no conclusions from this. Maybe he's still got hearing damage from the shootout. This would explain why he misses a loud crashing sound from the basement as he's opening the door. He goes downstairs and sees cans of paint stacked like goalposts, and two hockey sticks lying on the ground. Then he sighs, and doesn't look around to see if the boys were still there before popping the lid off his hiding place, where a mound of guns is just literally sitting there. He stashes the new guns without unloading them.Other people are stupid, too.Nicky's creepy friend from next door has an abusive Russian dad who sits and rewatches a John Wayne movie and flies into a rage over John Wayne getting shot, and talks about how awesome John Wayne is and how Duked The Duke is Duking. The dad is photographed in the dark, in mad flickering edits, with a hollow grin and bugged-out eyes. He could almost be menacing, but then he rants about how no one disrespects The Duke, not in my house! Who get money for this family, who put food on table? Oleg's dad has an inexplicable boner for John Wayne, and he can't pull it off. Every time he gets close to being genuinely scary, he true-grits his teeth and delivers another line about John Wayne.It's not just people or the plot - dumbness infects underlying fabric of the film itself.It looks like it was made by the Wachowskis' slowest student. It's over-cut and over-edited. Everything flickers, zooms and shakes. There are reenactments of things like gunshots where you follow the trajectory of the bullet, really fancy. However, they often immediately follow a scene where the trajectory is already made totally clear. It's hard to know if these recaps are there because they thought we wouldn't otherwise understand what happened, or because they felt that it's just how they shoot movies these days.Did I mention how badly the character-building went with Oleg's dad? The abused wife brings him a pizza to the TV room. He stares at her with giant vicious crazy eyes and says, "IT'S THICK CRUST" He then starts talking about John Wayne.These aren't spoilers. These are only the first 20 minutes.I wrote this far with the movie on pause at 24:20. I will now resume it, watch it to the end and write, below, if it gets better.---It got worse.

It is significant that this movie gets such high ratings. It gives me little hope for humanity, as it signals to me the general 'rate' of people nowadays. How can you indulge so much unworthiness, inhumanity and degradation? Why is it that insisting on elevation and not depravation only meets with loathing and mockery today? For instance, is there no one who gets troubled by the increasing usage in movies of babies amidst violent situations involving screaming and other utterances? These kids have no conscience of the theatrical setting; they themselves aren't actors and will take the violence for real. Why is the monitoring of animals and not of small children normative? No doubt Running Scared is a skillfully made product and it gives your nerves the expected blow. But I get so tired and sick of all the negativeness, aggression, swearing and other subhuman behavior in our modern films. Do you still think this won't have any effect on our growing youths? Don't you see we're judging ourselves this way, bringing affliction to humanity by constantly consuming filth and gloom? I'd like to make an appeal to the movie industry for taking its responsibility in educating people, instead of merely making money out of life's darknesses. Methinks we weren't born to drag each other into the pools of obscurity, but to inspire one another in reaching for the stars.